Crossover with Ranma and the Album 'Trance Action 1' (with a few other songs thrown in... no, it's not a songfic). Time to gear it up and get this party wild! The second season's up, prepare for TROUBLE AND BASS!!!

"You know? I never realized how a person could be both a genious and an
idiot at the same time," Nabiki commented, laying down on her sister's
bed, as Akane sat in her deskchair, and Ranma sat in lotus position on
the floor.

"I'm tell'n ya, by the time it comes to Kasumi's danceoff, she'll be more than ready to compete.

"Assuming she hasn't killed Ms. Akamatsu by then. Even dear old sweet sis has her limits," Nabiki interjected.Kasumi
sat across from her old schoolmate, smiling serenely, as they caught up
on old times. It was nice to converse with someone she considered a
friend back when she was still in high school, at least that's what
Kasumi kept telling herself, in order to resist the urge to stab either
the woman or herself with the butterknife in hand.

"And then she
has the gall to tell me they were sold out! Well, right then I demanded
that I wouldn't leave the store until I had satisfaction. Really, a
world class dancer such as myself gracing their quaint little store.
Well, that's when-""Relax, I already gave
Kasumi the rules for this training," Ranma retorted, completly unphazed
by the possibility of Kasumi going homicidal. That would just be too
un-Kasumi to him. Nonetheless, he did give her guidelines to follow,
just to give her training regimen a little more validity, "Rule one, no
fighting with her, rule two, no dancing, rule three, remain as pleasant
as possible. I figure the woman's obnoxious enough to get Kasumi's
goat, and all that pent up anger will just fuel her when the time
comes.""Kasumi dear, really, i can afford it!
Anything so I' not seen with you in such a drab, ill fitting, atrocity
to fashion! I'm a world class dancer with lots of money, after all!"

Kasumi simply continued to smile and nod, thinking to herself, "Gee, I wish my Daddy was rich enough for me to be delusional...""So
you're brilliant plan is to turn Kasumi into a brimming powerbomb,
waiting to ignite and unleash an unearthly terror upon anyone that
crosses her the wrong way?" Nabiki clarified, sounding more than a
little concerned.

"Well, you don't need to sound so drastic about it," Ranma replied.

"You
know? If you weren't such an insufferable, gloryhogging, selfish,
dramaqueen back in high school, we may have been the best of friends,
like we are now," Nikki stated, wrapping an arm around Kasumi's
shoulders, "It was nice that we got together like this, before I
completely show you for the fraud that you are."

Nabiki, Akane,
and Shampoo looked at each other, before shrugging indifferently.
"Well, she WAS pretty obnoxious," Nabiki commented.

"I'm home."

All
four occupying Akane's room looked at each other, before racing out and
down the stairs to meet the eldest Tendou sister. Ranma arrived first,
"So, how'd it go?"

Kasumi's serene, vapid smile never left her
face, as she removed her jacket, and headed for the stairs. The silence
that came from her slightly unnerved everyone, as they quietly followed
her upstairs, and to the door of her room. Kasumi gently closed it,
still not uttering a word. With the barrier separating her from the
rest of the world, Kasumi's smile melted from the obvious mask to one
of angry determination. From the vanity desk in her room, she picked up
the diskman Ranma let her borrow, put on the headphones, and started it
as she walked to the window of her room, and looked out into her town."Kasumi
dear, it's Thursday!" Soun beemed to his eldest daughter, as she
continued to clean while listening to Ranma's diskman, while wearing a
focused expression. "Um... Kasumi?"

Just noticing her father, Kasumi stopped sweeping the hall, and put the personal stereo on pause, "Oh, yes father?"

"I
just wanted to remind you that tomorrow is the big day!" Soun almost
danced in anticipation of his wife's legendary sukiyaki recipe.

Her
lack of entheusiasm was lost on her remaining parent, who found himself
in a tearful lament, "Oh, how you've made your father so happy!"

The
Tendou Patriarch was on cloud nine, prancing off like a delighted
little child who had been promised his heart's greatest desires. Though
Soun had missed the virtually flippant dismissal, it wasn't lost on the
two spying from the threshold of the back entrance.

"If you ask
me, I think your little training regimen worked too well," Akane
stated, not quite sure what to make of Kasumi's sudden demeanor.

"Whatever," Ranma
quipped, "I guess she ticked Kasumi off something fierce. I mean, your
sister's ki is flaring pretty strongly with the rhythm of 'Never'. I
can practically hear it from her body languge!"

"You're right
there," Akane said, noticing the way Kasumi's movements were as fluid
as the melody, yet her her steps were as firm as the base. Her aura
responded like an equalizer visual, rolling from her form in almost
hypnotic waves, "Geez, she doesn't even know the Rhythmer's fist, and
she's humming like a livewire!"

"And you do?" Ranma equired, he
already knew the answer, but also figure Akane was somewhat shying from
outright revealing it to him.

The
look on Kasumi's face, that look stopped Akane cold. While Ranma's
cocky smirk was confidence beyond arrogance, an expression that stated
he was able and more than willing to take anything on, Kasumi's quiet,
unassuming, tranquil, reserved look was like some ancient martial arts
master who knew the secrets to breaking his opponent before the match
even begun. "Whoa."

Akane turned back at Ranma's exclamation, as
she had almost said the same thing. Kasumi began sweeping again, "I
should do fine tomorrow."

"But... what about Dad, and..." Kasumi
turned back on the diskman before Akane could finish. The youngest
Tendou daughter slumped, slightly defeated, "I guess you made your
decision of which is more important, then."Friday
night, the big night that Soun Tendou had been waiting for. One of his
wife's final wishes was for him to decide when one of their daughters
was ready to take over the Tendou legacy, the culmination of
generations of some of the greatest culinary arts created by man.

This
was the night he had been greatly anticipating, since the first of his
daughters had entered the kitchen with a determination to do her mother
proud so many years ago. The recipe that fate had chosen Kasumi to
prepare after so long was one that was greatly cherished by the men of
the Tendou clan; to them, there were little rewards in life greater
than their vaunted sukyaki dish.

It was for that fact that Soun
couldn't possibly wait, as he sat, chopstick at ready, at the tearoom
table. Of course, it was just the afternoon, with a few hours before
Kasumi would even start cooking, but he wanted to be totally prepared.

"Kasumi... you make you father so proud," the Tendou patriarch whimpered, as he quietly shed tears, and trembled in place.Tonight,
the energy traveling through the dancefloor at Ucchan's was more
intense than any other night. The casual partiers that night moved with
an even greater intensity, as the jams provided with the resident DJ
extraordinare in silver provided the tracks for the ravetrain to roll.
The club lights washed over the crowds in hues of subdued violet, soft
white, or maroon, cutting though the darkness like swift katanas
through black velvet. The only consistant light upon Mu Tzu handling
the spinning duties; the light reflecting off of his shimmering
ensemble and giving him an appearance of divinity overseeing
festivities.

Intensity and passion swept through everyone like
high tide rolling in, leaving not a single one undrenched. And even for
an extraordinary night, all this was only from anticipation of
tonight's main event to be held on the center stage, currently barren
of the usual VIPs of Ucchan's.

That lacking oversight was
rectified, as Akane and Ranma descended the spiral staircase from the
catwalk that was the only way to access the hottest spot of Nerima,
perhaps Tokyo's, hottest club. Akane stretched languishly, testing her
muscles and indulging in the delicious sensation of her circulation
coursing through them suddenly more effectively, "Wow, feels like the
crowd is surging tonight."

The pigtailed redhead bobbed her head
to the throbbing beat of Ravelab's powerful remix of 'Send me an
Angel', "No joke, feel like an electrical storm in here."

"Is
because too, too nice Kasumi, yes?" Shampoo spoke up, just reaching the
dancefloor, "Too, too exciting showdown with braggart girl." Akane gave
a salute of greeting, prompting the Amazon to give a nod of
acknowledgement.

Konatsu dropped from the ceiling to land
between Akane and Ranma, spinning suddenly with a katana slash towards
Ranma's neck. The pigtailed martial artist faded back, undaunted,
"Konatsu, sup?"

The shinobi sheathed his sword, "Ranma, it's
good to see you doing well. To answer your questions, Ukyo-sama's been
hyping the battle between Kasumi and ms. Akamatsu for the past week. It
seems to have generated a great deal of interest."

"Of course it
would," An Australian accented voice interjected from the top of the
stairs. She continued to speak as she regally came down, "simply by my
involvement, you quaint establishment would be... 'jaming'would the
term be... tenfold than it ever shall at any other time.

"Yes,
it would be rather 'jammed', with the majority of the cause being your
swelled head," Ukyo commented, standing directly behind Nikki, and
surprising the foreign woman with her presence.

The blonde woman
casually brushed her hair down from standing on end, "So, I seem to not
find dear Kasumi's presence. I sincerely hope she hasn't decided to
once again... respectfully recend her challenge acceptance?" Nikki
chuckled, feeling her victory ensured one way or another.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Kasumi's rather dedicated to this competition, Ms. Akamatsu."

Everyone
turned to the arrival of the final two, with Nabiki descending the
stairs ahead of a totally determined Kasumi. "I apologise if I'm a bit
late, I had some... preparations to make."

Nikki eyed Kasumi's
dark brown wrap-around skirt and dark burgundy drop-needle turtleneck
completed with calf-high suede black boots; a stark contrast to her
completely white ensamble of leggings and nearly opaque billowing
blouse that barely left anything hidden of her form. "I suppose such
a... subdued outfit would take a sizable deal of you time."

Kasumi
finally reached the dancefloor, tossing her head to the side and
sending her bangs and mane swishing. "I thought it suited my mood," she
said with an almost flippant arrogance.

"This really your
sister?" Ranma enquired to Nabiki as she came to stand by the rest of
the group, while admiring the current change the eldest Tendou daughter
had apparently gone though for her bout.

Nabiki smirked, "I
remember when she used to go out clubbing when she was in high school.
This is like some sort of regression than it a metamorphosis."

Nikki
hmphed at Kasumi's attitude, finding it just as obnoxious now as she
did when they were still in school, "So, are you ready to finsh this?"

"This
isn't about finishing anything, Nikki," Kasumi answered, "But as you're
so insistant on bearing this grudge, so be it." With a flick of her
wrist, Kasumi produced a CD, "Since you made the challenge, I pick the
song. Konatsu, if you would please. The final song on this album."

She
handed the CD to the shinobi, never taking her gaze from her rival.
Nikki folded her arms under her chest, matching the gaze. Konatsu
looked at the CD, before sending it flying like a shiruken towards the
DJ. Mu Tzu caught it, and looked down to see the shinobi signal for the
last song. Mu Tzu nodded in approval; an apt song for this battle,
'Woman' by Tina Arena.

The battlefield stood cleared for the two
fighters, as the sythesized yet soft piano and and violin rose from
inconspicuousy to declaration. Kasumi made the first move, swaying with
the tempo. Her eyes closed, as she could feel it's gentle command begin
upon her.

Then the lyrics began, urging an almost lazy roll of
her head that felt sensually delicious. Her she furthered surrendered
to her willing enslavement, almost gliding into motions she hadn't
indulged in since her highschool years. The sway and roll of her chest
that traveled down her body like dew from an orchid's petal, and the
almost etheral motions of her arms and hands, as the caressed her sides
and stomach, just staying shy of being indecent either north or south,
before her feather-like carresses traveled heavenward against her
silouette, and allowing her fingers to comb through her hair, before
her fingers trailed down her face, dancing against her slightly parted
lips. Kasumi came back to reality, glancing at her opponent.

Nikki
tossed her head back, arching her back like a thin grass stalk caught
in a wind. She rolled her torso in a circle in a demonstration of her
tone and lithe form, like a single helicopter propeller, while her arms
slackened lazily and followed. Carrying the fluidity of movement, she
spun once on her toe in a homage to her years of ballet, and then
stopped in almost a slouch with her feet parted just outside of
shoulder width. With a one-two sway of her hips, she then lifted her
chin to the air, making it seem as it the simple motion was lifting her
to the sky, bringing her to her toes. Slowly, so teasingly slow that
all spectators felt as if they had swallowed silken lightning, she
brought her head down, bouncing on the balls of her feet in rhythm,
allowing her head to follow the motion every third beat, she rippled
her body in consecutive waves, making the graceful movements more
erotic than hey could be imagined. She then lifted her head giving
Kasumi a feral grin from under her bangs.

The feeling out phase
was over. Upon the first chorus, both dancers surrendered themselves.
Kasumi's movements were like an oncoming thunderstorm in the horizon;
rolling clouds charged with energy, thunderous movements directed by
the bass within tempo set through song. Almost licetious in her
abandon, the eldest Tendou daughter was becoming further and further
lost in it all, and unwilling to pull herself back. Nikki was akin to a
windstorm over green plains; movements whimsically swift to subtly slow
as she felt the song coaxing her, while abandoned and wild like an
unabated gust.

Kasumi felt simply delicious, finding sensations
she had lost even so few years ago taking her over and having their way
like a forgotten love that loved her like none other. The more she
danced, the quicker her breath became; not from exertion, but from
intense ardor. Gods, what had made her give up such a wonderous feeling?

Nikki
was extatic, realizing it wasn't at all about a meager grudge. She
didn't fault Kasumi for her 'perfection', nor did she actually have any
desire to 'put the girl in her proper place'. Her whole life had been
about dancing. From when she put on her mother's ballet shoes when she
was three, to traveling the world (at her father's expense) and
performing. over that time, she had found she had lost something, a
component integral to her art. As it became more and more conspicuous
in its absense, she began to hear about a girl who awed and blew away
any who danced and watched her dance, moving in such alluring ways that
left them dumbstruck. The more she heard about the girl named Kasumi
Tendou, the more it had angered her. No, it wasn't a rivalry developed
from animosity; irritance because Kasumi was the belle of the ball.
Kasumi had found what Nikki had lost.

When the gauntlet was
originally thrown, Nikki couldn't help but thirst for the battle,
seeing what Kasumi had to offer, and drinking it up and filling that
void that slowly began to drain the enjoyment and her desire to dance.
The passion, what Kasumi had, what Nikki once had, and what Nikki
needed now. When Kasumi failed to show, the blonde was more than
disappointed, she was crushed. Arrogance attempted to fill the void,
but it couldn't quell her thirst. Eventually, Nikki needed to face
Kasumi.

"I can change your world,I can give you life,I can sing you lulliby at night."

Kasumi
hair whipped with her head, as she twisted with a libidinous panache,
her arms hugging her side as if she strained to contain herself.

"I can see you eyes before they flicker blind ,I can rescue you in the nick of time..."

Nikki
blouse billowed with her movements, as she lithely and gracefully flew
from motion to motion. After a spin, she dropped to her knees, and
tossed her head back with her fingertips reaching back to touch the
ground, arching her back as her chest thrust out.

Both women
spun to face each other, facing each other from opposite sides of the
dancefloor. Kasumi's subtle smile said it all; she couldn't go back
now. Who she had become after that faithful night was not who she truly
was, and she missed who she really was. But still, there was more,
there was one final level she hadn't reached.

Nikki caught
Kasumi's smile, and matched it with a genuine one of her own.
Apparently, they both got what they need. What was only left was for
them to go further. Nikki's smile fell, before they both bowed their
heads.

At one of the surrounding tables of the dancefloor,
hidden where the dancelights didn't reach her, a certain woman with a
peculiar metallic aqua hairtone sat up in her seat; her eyes widening
at the sensation that was building when the two girls bowed.

The
song began into it's climax, right as the two dancer's heads shot up.
At once, a wave of indescribable energy surged throughout Ucchan's,
washing over everyone like a tidal wave. Both Kasumi and Nikki dance
grew more potent, lascivious, consuming them both like a dry meadow
within a hungry fire.

The two storms gravitated towards one
another, before they mingled and entwined into a roaring tempest. They
danced against each other, grinding their pelveses together around
entwined legs, not touching one another in any other way, and glaring
at each other in glares mistaken for hate or lust. Glaring at each
other in what could only be undilluted, distilled passion.

Finally,
the intensity wound down, as the song came down from high, winding back
into a quiet nonexistance. Kasumi and Nikki broke away gently, like a
force of nature dissappating; leaving summer clouds, a gentle breeze,
and an audience panting from the performance."A
draw..." Nabiki breathed, somewhat disappointed at the outcome both her
sister and her opponent decided on. The middle Tendou sister had to
admit, it was a tough one to call.

Kasumi smiled sweetly, as she
walked down the stairs from her bedroom with her sisters and their
mutual fiance, "Oh, it's quite alright, I had fun."

"That was some performance, though," Ranma spoke up, "You're definitely one in your own class, Kasumi."

"Why, thank you for the compliment, Ranma-kun."

"Yeah,
it's sad to see you have to give it all up again, Kasumi," Akane added,
noting her sister back to wearing one of her usual housedresses.

"Oh,
I would certainly like to do it again, please don't think I'm
abandoning it all," even if it sounded like the motherly, dutiful
Kasumi, the smirk on her face was anything but.

"Well, even if
you were, at least you had it for a night. I think you made the right
choice, even if it's going to leave Daddy a bit disappointed," Nabiki
said, almost somberly.

"Oh, that's quite alright," Kasumi
answered, causing her sisters to look at one another, puzzled that
their eldest sister would blow off their father in such a way.

As
they entered the tearoom, Kasumi calmly waited for her three companions
to pick themselves off the ground from a unified face fault. "You see,
mother's sukiyaki recipe required that the meat be cooked slowly over
half a day. I had plenty of time to prepare dinner."

"Oh Kasumi,
you've made your father's fondest wishes reality!" Soun wept, as he
still held a little morsel of heaven between his chopsticks.

"Yum," Nikki aggreed, quickly working through her second helping.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.